The invention concerns an apparatus for the transfer of rod-shaped articles, in particular filter rods, from an apparatus for transverse axial conveying of the articles to an apparatus for longitudinal axial conveying of the articles or vice versa, the directions of transport of the apparatuses running transversely to each other, including a rotatably driveable conveying means with at least one receptacle, each receptacle being designed for taking at least one article off the apparatus for transverse axial conveying of the articles and discharging the or each received article to the apparatus for longitudinal axial conveying or vice versa.
Apparatuses of this kind are used in particular in the tobacco-processing industry. The rod-shaped articles can be e.g. filters, filter segments or segment groups as well as cigarettes or the like. In the treatment or manufacture of such articles, on account of machines and apparatuses arranged at angles it is necessary to convert the articles from transverse axial conveying to longitudinal axial conveying or vice versa. This purpose is served by the generic apparatus.
The apparatus mentioned must, however, be adapted to the respective length and/or the respective diameter of the articles to be transferred in order to obtain optimum productivity. This is explained below by the example of manufacturing filters. Each filter usually consists of one or more components, the so-called segments, which are surrounded with wrapping material. Depending on requirements and/or customer wishes, filters have a different length and/or different diameter. In the past, filters often consisted of a single component. Nowadays the filter is usually formed from several components. In this case different filter lengths arise, which as a rule are within a range from about 21 to 27 mm. Other lengths are, however, also standard. Furthermore there may also be variations in diameter. Filters or the filter material or the filter segments are prepared in a single or multiple working length or in segment groups of different length, and transported transversely axially in the direction of the generic apparatus. By means of the last-mentioned apparatus, the articles are transferred to the apparatus for longitudinal axial conveying, to the actual continuous rod-making machine. On the continuous rod-making machine, the individual filter segments or filter segments assembled in groups are surrounded with wrapping paper and cut into the final filters.
A filter length or the length of the filter segments or segment groups is also referred to as the format. During manufacture it frequently happens that a change of format is necessary. That is, production must be switched from a first length to a second length which differs from the first length, in order to achieve optimum utilisation of productivity of the apparatus as well as of the apparatuses arranged upstream or downstream. However, this switch necessitates a variation in the diameter of the conveying means or a variation in the running circle described by the rotating receptacles, in order to optimally adapt the device to each desired cut length of the filters. With modern-day apparatuses, this requires exchange of the whole conveying means. For each format there is a separate conveying means which must be exchanged when the machine stops. The change of format leads to considerable expenditure on assembly, which, like stopping of the machine, leads to elevated costs.